It's not just unemployment -- the mayor's office calls it an ambitious anti-poverty program. Cranley’s office said one in four Cincinnatians fall below the poverty line, which is roughly 71,000 people.

Child poverty stands at 53 percent, which is the second worst in the nation behind Detroit. In recent years Cincinnati has ranked among the top 10 poorest cities in America.

"I think the evidence will show you that having at least one bread winner is probably the most significant cultural fact whether a child can escape poverty," Cranley said.

Community leaders joined the mayor and the city manager at the Urban League to announce the new project.

Cranley said it's shameful and unacceptable that so many citizens continue to live in poverty in Cincinnati.

“This is about dignity, this is about hope, this is about the American dream, this is about giving people the pride of a paycheck,” Cranley said.

The first organizations to receive funds from the program are:

The Urban League ($250,000)

Cincinnati Works ($300,000)

Freestore Foodbank/Cincinnati Cooks ($250,000)

Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency ($100,000)

IKRON ($105,000)

Mercy Neighborhood Ministries ($120,000)

Cranley says these are federal dollars being channeled thru the city.

He admitted it will not solve everything in the city or the region, but that it should impact at least 4,000 people in some way.

The project will target successful agencies already having an impact on people like Cheriese Lindsey. She said five years ago she was working as a housekeeper barely making ends meet. She took on temporary jobs and government assistance. Eventually Lindsey connected with a construction job training program with the Urban League. Now she is the construction management officer for 3CDC.

“I’m living proof that programs like Hand Up Initiative work," Lindsey said.